Brain Scans Reveal Whether Couples Will Stay Together

Scientists noticed patterns in the brain activity of volunteers who had recently fallen in love and found they could predict whether the couples would be together three years later.

The findings showed even if volunteers believed they were in passionately love when their brains were scanned, by examining their neuron activity scientists could detect whether those feelings were strong enough for the relationship to last.

Volunteers were shown photographs of their partner and were asked to think of memories of them while their brains were scanned.

Where volunteers’ brains showed more activity in the caudate tail area – which reacts emotionally to visual beauty – but less in the medial orbitofrontal cortex – the area linked to criticism and judgement – their relationships tended to last.